Southeast Asian governments continue to manage home-grown extremism reasonably well, but the problem is not going away.Indonesia used to have one major attack a year ― last year, there were seven separate plots, of which five ended in violence, although the efforts were amateurish and the casualty rate was low. The recent foiled plot by suspected Islamic militants to bomb Bali marks an escalation of the violent threat in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country.Several factors could affect

The downfall of former Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai has thrown the spotlight on China’s political elite and their increasing foreign connections.Bo’s political fate was sealed after his wife Gu Kailai was named as a suspect in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, who had business ties with the family and helped Bo’s son gain admission to prestigious schools in Britain.Unlike the cloistered China of yesteryear, many top Chinese politicians and their families now have overseas links. F

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) ― South African President Jacob Zuma will marry his fourth wife this weekend, his spokesman confirmed Sunday.Zuma will tie the knot at his family homestead in Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal province, said presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj.“I can confirm that President Zuma will formalise his relationship with his fiancee, Ms Bongi Ngema, in a private traditional ceremony at Nkandla this weekend,” Maharaj said.Zuma, a known polygamist, will be married the sixth time. He divorced Nko

KABUL (AP) ― A brazen, 18-hour Taliban attack on the Afghan capital ended early Monday when insurgents who had holed up overnight in two buildings were overcome by heavy gunfire from Afghan-led forces and pre-dawn air assaults from U.S.-led coalition helicopters.Kabul residents awoke Monday to a second day of loud explosions and the crackle of gunfire. As darkness turned to dawn, Afghan-led forces fired one rocket-propelled grenade after another into a building in the center of the city where in

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ― Nearly 100 tornadoes raked across the central United States, leaving five people dead and at least 29 injured Sunday in Oklahoma alone. Twisters ripped up homes, a hospital and cut power to hundreds of thousands of people.Forecasters warned that more tornadoes from the violent storm system were possible before the day was over across a swath that stretched hundreds of miles from southern Texas to northern Michigan.Oklahoma emergency officials said five people died after a to

CARTAGENA, Colombia (AFP) ― Leaders from across the Americas failed to agree Sunday on Cuba’s inclusion at future summits in the face of U.S. and Canadian opposition, ending a rough two days for U.S. President Barack Obama.Obama, who defended his stance on Havana at a post-summit press conference, also faced questions on Washington’s approach to the drug war and found himself on the defensive over an embarrassing Secret Service prostitution scandal.The vast majority of the region’s democraticall

Early this year, the customs office seized 113 containers of scrap metal, each weighing 28 tonnes that were allegedly contaminated with hazardous waste, at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta.The containers, 89 of which were from England and 24 from the Netherlands, arrived in five shipments between late December and January from ports in Felixstowe, England, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands.The Environment Ministry’s deputy director for hazardous and toxic waste management Masnellyarti Hilman has